Unexpected Diaphragmatic Hernia Among Patients Undergoing Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery for Internal Fixation of Rib Fractures

Traumatic blunt diaphragm injuries are a diagnostic challenge in trauma. They may be missed due to the increasing trend of non-operative management of patients. The purpose of this study was to review the rate of occult blunt diaphragm injuries in patients who underwent video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for rib fixation. This retrospective study included patients that received VATS as part of our institutional protocol for rib fracture management. This includes utilizing incentive spirometry, multimodal analgesia, and early consideration for VATS. Data was abstracted from the electronic medical record and included demographics, operative findings, and outcomes. Thirty patients received VATS per our rib fracture protocol. No patients had any identified diaphragm injury on pre-operative imaging. A concomitant diaphragm injury was identified in 20% (6/30) of the study population. All patients were alive at 30 days. For all patients, total hospital length of stay was 14.5 days, ICU length of stay was 8.9 days, and average ventilator days was 4.2 days. When comparing patients with and without concomitant diaphragm injuries, hospital length of stay was 16.8 days vs. 14.5 ( P = 0.59), ICU length of stay was 11.8 days vs. 8.2 ( P = 0.54), and ventilator days was 4.5 days vs. 4.2 ( P = 0.93). This study revealed that 20% of patients undergoing VATS for rib fracture fixation had a concomitant diaphragm injury. This higher-than-expected prevalence suggests that groups of patients sustaining blunt trauma may have occult diaphragmatic injuries that are otherwise unidentified. This raises the need for improved diagnostic modalities to identify these injuries.

Predictors of blunt diaphragm injury in Australia

Introduction Blunt diaphragm injury (BDI) is an uncommon, potentially fatal consequence of blunt torso injury. While associations between BDI and other factors such as mechanism of injury or other injuries have been described elsewhere, little recent research has been done in Australia into BDI. The aims of this study were to determine the incidence rate of BDI in our centre, identify how it was diagnosed, determine rates of missed injury and identify predictive factors for BDI. The hypothesis was that patients with BDI would significantly differ to those without BDI. Methods All major trauma patients with blunt torso injuries at our Level 1 major trauma service from 2010 to 2018 were included. Data for patient demographics, other injuries, diagnosis and treatment of BDI were extracted. Patients with BDI were compared with patients without BDI in order to identify differences that could be used to predict BDI in future patients. Results Of 5190 patients with a blunt torso injury, 51 (0.98%) had a BDI at a mean age of 53 ± 19.6 years, and median Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 27(IQR 21–38.5) compared with 5139 patients with a mean age of 48.2 ± 20.7 years and median ISS of 21.9(IQR 14–26) who did not have a BDI. The diagnosis of BDI was made at CT ( n = 35), surgery ( n = 14) or autopsy ( n = 2). Blunt diaphragm injury was missed on index imaging for 11 of 43 patients (25.6%). On multivariate analysis, each point increase in ISS (OR 1.03, p = 0.02); rib fractures (OR 4.65, p = 0.004); splenic injury (OR 2.60, p = 0.004); and liver injury (OR 2.78, p = 0.003) were independently associated with BDI. Conclusion Injury Severity Score, rib fractures and solid abdominal organ injury increase the likelihood of BDI. In patients with these injuries, BDI should be considered even in the presence of normal CT findings.

Decreased Length of Stay After Laparoscopic Diaphragm Repair for Isolated Diaphragm Injury After Penetrating Trauma

Background Isolated diaphragm injury (IDI) occurs in up to 30% of penetrating left thoracoabdominal injuries. Laparoscopic abdominal procedures have demonstrated improved outcome including decreased postoperative pain and length of stay (LOS) compared to open surgery. However, there is a paucity of data on this topic for penetrating IDI. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and outcome of laparoscopic diaphragmatic repair versus open diaphragmatic repair (LDR vs ODR) of IDI. Methods The Trauma Quality Improvement Program (2010-2016) was queried for patients with IDI who underwent ODR versus LDR. A bivariate analysis using Pearson chi-square and Mann-Whitney test was performed to determine LOS among the two groups. Results From 2039 diaphragm injuries, 368 patients had IDI; 281 patients (76.4%) underwent ODR and 87 (23.6%) underwent LDR. Compared to LDR, the ODR patients were older (median, 31 vs 25 years, P < .001) and had a higher injury severity score (mean, 11.2 vs 9.6, P = .03) but had similar rates of intensive care unit LOS, unplanned return to the operating room, ventilator days, and complications ( P > .05). Patients undergoing ODR had a longer LOS (5 vs 4 days, P = .01), compared to LDR. There were no deaths in either group. Conclusions Trauma patients presenting with IDI undergoing ODR had a longer hospital LOS compared to patients undergoing LDR with no difference in complications or mortality. Therefore, we recommend when possible an LDR should be employed to decrease hospital LOS. Further research is needed to examine other benefits of laparoscopy such as postoperative pain, incisional hernia, and wound-related complications.

Diagnosis of diaphragm injuries using modern 256-slice CT scanners: too early to abandon operative exploration

BackgroundMissed injury of the diaphragm may result in hernia formation, enteric strangulation, and death. Compounding the problem, diaphragmatic injuries are rare and difficult to diagnose with standard imaging. As such, for patients with high suspicion of injury, operative exploration remains the gold standard for diagnosis. As no current data currently exist, we sought to perform a pragmatic evaluation of the diagnostic ability of 256-slice multidetector CT scanners for diagnosing diaphragmatic injuries after trauma.MethodsA retrospective review of trauma patients from 2011 to 2018 was performed at an American College of Surgeons-verified level 1 trauma center to identify the diagnostic accuracy of CT scan for acute diaphragm injury. All patients undergoing abdominal operation were eligible for inclusion. Two separate levels of CT scan technology, 64-slice and 256-slice, were used during this time period. The prospective imaging reports were reviewed for the diagnosis of diaphragm injury and the results confirmed with the operative record. Injuries were graded using operative description per the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma guidelines.ResultsOne thousand and sixty-eight patients underwent operation after preoperative CT scan. Acute diaphragm injury was identified intraoperatively in 14.7%. Most with diaphragmatic injury underwent 64-slice CT (134 of 157, 85.4%). Comparing patients receiving 64-slice or 256-slice CT scan, there was no difference in the side of injury (left side 57.5% vs. 69.6%, p=0.43) or median injury grade (3 (3, 3) vs. 3 (2, 3), p=0.65). Overall sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of the 256-slice CT were similar to the 64-slice CT (56.5% vs. 45.5%, 93.7% vs. 98.1%, and 89.0% vs. 90.2%).DiscussionThe new 256-slice multidetector CT scanner fails to sufficiently improve diagnostic accuracy over the previous technology. Patients with suspicion of diaphragm injury should undergo operative intervention.Level of evidenceI, diagnostic test or criteria.